Sarah Mason and Sage Erickson survive Round 3 of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro
New Zealand’s Sarah Mason prevailed in the sixth heat of Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro’s round of 24 (Round 3) at the beach-break of Praia do Guincho in Estoril, Portugal, on Saturday, June 11th.
The four-way battle also included America’s Sage Erickson, South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag and Australia’s Jessi Miley-Dyer. Erickson successfully survived the third round to advance to round 12 by securing the second position. Buitendag and Dyer finished
third and fourth, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
One could almost feel the misery of the surfers as they struggled to cope with the tough surfing conditions. Even though everything was good as far as the weather was concerned, the same could not be said about the tides and winds. Strong cross shore winds
accompanied the two-to-three foot tides, though that was not the end of it. The waves also lacked juice, which deprived the surfers of the room to go for more technical and stylish tricks.
Mason, however, was not daunted by the demanding conditions. She met the challenge head on, catching wave after wave while hunting for a good score. She eventually added an impressive 7.75 points to her account midway through the heat and immediately followed
it up with a stunning 8.25 wave. The resulting heat-total of 16.00 sealed the fate of the battle with Mason walking away with top honours. This cemented her place in the next round of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star event.
Erickson did not look too comfortable in the sea, but that did not keep her from hunting for a couple of decent scores to secure second position. She caught her first good wave in the final stages of the heat to score 6.25 points off it and soon followed
it up with a 6.30-point wave to move to a heat-total of 12.55 points. The second place finish allowed her to extend her life in the competition.
Buitendag found herself out of the safe zone after securing 5.75 points off her first wave, right in the beginning of the heat, and 5.00 off her second wave in the final moments to finish with a two-wave total of 10.75 points.
The Australian surfer, Dyer, also found herself getting eliminated from the event after finishing with a heat-total of 10.45 points. Her performance came as a real disappointment since she had remained so impressive in the previous rounds.
The third round of the ASP 6-Star Estoril Surf & Music Billabong Girls Pro wrapped up with the conclusion of the sixth heat.
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